Griffindor, the site about law & politics

Our fascination with how law and politics are intertwined is infinite. Whether it is through popular TV programmes or reading about law enquiries in the news, law and politics continues to dominant the headlines of the media and carries a lot of weight in public opinion.

Why we need the law

The prosecution of case laws in the UK is administered by the Crown Prosecution Service, also known as the CPS. From medieval laws that protect lords to modern day laws about how the House of Commons and the House of Lords work, British law has set a precedent for the rest of the world. There are plenty of reasons why we need the law in the UK – take a look at how it adds value to our lives:

Creates order: Law helps to instil order in society because it ensures that we all live by specific rules that we cannot break whether it is about serious crimes or offences which seem minor but should still be regulated.

Protects citizens: The law helps to protect us all regardless of our status or financial standards in life. It's important to have specific laws to protect specific groups such as women, men, and people with disabilities.

Why politics matters

Law works in tandem with politics because politicians effectively work to promote the laws that are enforced in the country. The benefits of having politics are:

Running the country: Thanks to politics, we learn how the country can be run effectively and what types of laws we should follow and support. Politicians work with laws to ensure that they have a platform to promote their ideas and beliefs from their political parties.

Law, politics and the economic downturn – a case study of the intersection

The 50p tax rate that was introduced is an excellent example of how law, politics and the recession collided in an explosive political debate. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer created the 50p tax rate for people who earned over £150,000 per year, and it became law.

However, what was found that was that many high net worth individuals in the UK who earned more than that found ways to legally avoid paying more tax. This turned into a lively debate about whether lawmakers and politicians were aware of how serious the recession is because people benefitting from legal tax loopholes were finding ways to keep more money to themselves. This example shows how the government was trying to generate tax money because of the recession, yet law and politics still could not find a way around the actual legal loopholes which have existed from before.

This case study is a snapshot into how law and politics are connected one way or the other into how Britain is run. Always consider politics when discussing the law, and never forget the effects of law when touching on politics.